Living with arthritis isn't easy - and speaking on the Dig It podcast, Jo Whiley has shared the challenges of her own diagnosis. 'I find it very, very frustrating, the things that I can't do. There's just something in my head that doesn't want to accept that I'm not capable of doing things that I used to.'

Stiff, aching joints don't just impact every day life - they also make working out a struggle. At a time of life when women should be increasing their strength training, arthritis can make handling weights painful - so it's not surprising that nearly 50% of women with painful joints say they avoid weights or resistance training because they're worried it could worsen pain.

In a recent episode, Jo shares how she's had to adapt her own strength training after her diagnosis as arthritis made it difficult to bend her fingers and hold dumbbells. '[Over] the past decade [my body has] really changed. I've got arthritis... and I find it hard to hold dumbbells now because I cannot bend my fingers. I can't hold on to things,' she revealed.

Jo credits her personal trainer for helping her modify her training - and still stay strong. 'I see this amazing guy called Adam at David Lloyd who I've seen for years,' she says. 'He's known my body throughout the past decade. He's constantly telling me different angles to hold things and different ways to grip. So I can vouch that there are ways that you can adapt your routine. There are different ways around it.'

Podcast guest, menopausal strength coach Kate Oakley, added that while strength training won't cure arthritis, it can help protect the joints. 'It's not going to make the arthritis go away, but it can help. As you build strength in the muscle, it's going to support the joint.' And she added: 'We need to be strength training in midlife [to] work on our bone density and our muscle mass, which is declining from perimenopause onwards.'